Wednesday, July 17th, 2024
-- DAILY GOSHO --
"This passage is saying that if in a single moment of life we exhaust the pains and trials of millions of kalpas, then instant after instant there will arise in us the three Buddha bodies with which we are eternally endowed. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is just such a 'diligent' practice."
(The Essential Passage in Each
Lotus Sutra,
Selection Source: Kyo no Hosshin,
Thursday, July 18th, 2024
--- DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT ---
"'If you propagate [this teaching]" means that when we engage in Buddhist practice, devilish functions that seek to obstruct our faith are certain to arise.
"'The Daishonin continues: "If they did not, there would be no way of knowing that this is the correct teaching' (WND-1, 501). Precisely because Nichiren Buddhism is the correct teaching for attaining Buddhahood, devilish functions arise to hinder our practice.
"'He then cites a passage from T'ien-t'ai's Great Concentration and Insight, which states: 'As practice progresses and understanding grows, the three obstacles and four devils emerge in confusing form, vying with one another to interfere' (WND-1, 501).
"The three obstacles are: (1) the obstacle of earthly desires; (2) the obstacle of karma; and (3) the obstacle of retribution.* 'Obstacle' here means something that blocks or obstructs our Buddhist practice.
"The four devils are: (1) the hindrance of the five components; (2) the hindrance of earthly desires; (3) the hindrance of death; and (4) the hindrance of the devil king?** A devil is a negative working that saps from within the vibrancy and vitality of practitioners of the correct teaching. The important thing to remember is that these obstacles and devils are both forces that obstruct and hinder our Buddhist practice.
"Of them all, the hindrance of the devil king is the most serious. This refers to the devil king of the sixth heaven, also known as the heavenly devil Freely Enjoying Things Conjured by Others, because he takes joy in manipulating and exploiting others to his will. The most fundamental of all devilish functions that can rule human minds, the devil king employs every conceivable means to attack and harass practitioners of the correct teaching. This includes manifesting within figures of power and authority in society and manipulating them to persecute the practitioners of the Mystic Law.
"The Daishonin tells us here that our response to such obstructions should be to 'be neither influenced nor frightened by them'
(WND-1, 501)."
The Buddhism of the Sun—Illuminating the World, [75] To Our Future Division Members, the Torchbearers of justice—Our hope for the Future, Obstacles Will Arise When We Practice the Correct Teaching, Daibyaku Renge, July 2021, translation released April 2023.
* The obstacle of earthly desires indicates when earthly desires, or impulses and afflictions, such as greed, anger, and foolishness (called the "three poisons", prevent us from progressing in Buddhist faith and practice. The obstacle of karma refers to hindrances to our faith and practice that result from negative karma. In
"Letter to the Brothers," opposition from those close to one, such as one's spouse or children, is cited as a specific example. The obstacle of retribution describes impediments to our Buddhist practice that are due to the difficult circumstances into which we are born or have come to live. These are considered the negative effects or consequences stemming from negative karma in past lifetimes.
** The hindrance of the five components arises from disharmony among the workings of the body and mind, or the five components, of those who carry out faith and practice. The hindrance of earthly desires means the emergence within one's life of afflictions such as greed, anger, and foolishness that function to destroy one's faith. The hindrance of death comes when one's Buddhist practice is cut short due to one's death. Also, it can be said that one has been defeated by the hindrance or devil of death when the death of another practitioner, or of anyone close, causes one to doubt one's Buddhist faith. Finally,
ICHINEN NI OKUGO NO SHINRO O TSUKUSEBA HONRAI MUSA NO SANJIN NENNEN NI OKORU NARI IWAYURU NANMYOHORENGEKYO WA SHOJINGYO NARI
New Gosho Zenshu page 1099,
Gosho Zenshu page 790
And the Japanese kanji for
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